Delivering More Than Just the Mail

I guess delivering the mail could be considered a dirty job in some instances, but I'm sure the mailman himself isn't supposed to be contributing to that dirtiness with a "special" delivery. Here's the story of a now-suspended Oregon postman and how he'll probably end up looking through the want-ads pretty soon.

By Wayne Havrelly of KGW-TV


Don Derfler's own wife didn't believe him when he told her the mail carrier was defecating in public. Then he showed her the pictures.

Derfler saw it all from his living room window while he was babysitting his son Wednesday afternoon.

"He started pulling his pants down and started defecating, and at that point I grabbed my camera and started to take pictures," said Derfler.

Officials with the U.S. Postal Service say they are disheartened and disappointed.

"We're taking this very seriously, and I really want to apologize to our customers and to the public. I've worked for the Postal Service for many years and have never heard of an incident like this, and I hope I never do again," said Ron Anderson with the U.S. Postal Service.

Postal inspectors may have already cleaned up the evidence, according to another neighbor who said he confronted several men in suits walking around the scene of the act Thursday morning."I told them it's not normal to be wandering around someone's house, especially when they are away at work. He told me, 'It's OK, we're postal inspectors,'" the neighbor, who identified himself only as Dennis, told KGW.

"This is how they respect our property?," said Derfler. "It's just not right, and it's also a biohazard." It's also a misdemeanor crime in the city of Portland.

"Nature calls at inopportune times," said Dennis. "But jeez, go back to your rig and find a gas station for crying out loud."

Officials with the Postal Service told KGW they have suspended the mail carrier in question without pay, pending an investigation.